Connector Types of USB connectors - main differences and features All types of connectors

Device

An electrical connection is made by mechanical contact of conductors. The number of contacts is determined by the purpose of the connector and can range from one to several hundred.

Connectors are divided into sockets and plugs. Typically, a plug is what fits into a socket. A well-known example of a socket is a regular 220 volt outlet, which can be found in any home. Accordingly, a “plug” is something that is inserted into a “socket”. Unfortunately, such a division cannot always be made clearly enough, because There are a lot of types of connectors currently produced and you can find a connector in which the plug and socket are almost indistinguishable from each other.

Structurally, the connector consists of housing, contact group and cable entry. Housings The connectors are either collapsible or non-dismountable. They are made from plastic, rubber, ceramics and metal. In the latter case, the housing necessarily contains an insulator made of plastic or ceramic. Contact group made from a highly conductive metal (aluminum or copper) and often plated with precious metals (silver, gold, platinum) to improve conductivity. The contact group consists of a contact pin (rod of round or rectangular cross-section) and elastic contact plates. In professional slang, the pin is called “father”, and the plate system is called “mother”. When connecting the connector, the pin touches the plates, which bend to provide a permanent electrical connection. Cable entry necessary for the cable to get inside the connector. In the simplest case, the role of the cable entry is played by a round hole in the connector body. But this design leads to the fact that the cable will bend strongly and eventually the cable core will break. To prevent this from happening, the connector is equipped with a special cable shock absorber, which allows the cable to bend only within a safe bend radius. To prevent the cable from being pulled out of the connector, the cable is held in place with a special clamp. All these devices are united under the name cable gland. If the connector will operate in a dusty and humid environment, the cable entry additionally provides sealing of the hole.

To eliminate the possibility of an erroneous connection, the vast majority of connectors have so-called “keys”. As a rule, the “key” is various kinds of protrusions and recesses that allow you to insert the plug into the socket in only one way. This is done to ensure that each contact of the plug is connected exactly to the intended contact of the socket. But connectors without keys are also often found. For example, a regular home socket does not have keys and can be inserted without observing polarity. But, for example, a socket with a grounding pin cannot be inserted otherwise.

Classification

Depending on their purpose, connectors are classified according to:

Application (signal, power supply, audio, video, computer, etc.), - by voltage (low-voltage, high-voltage), - by current strength (low-current, high-current), - by the frequency range of the current passing through them (for direct current (DC) , low-frequency, high-frequency), - mounting method (on a panel, on a wire, on a chassis), - method of connecting a wire to a contact (screw terminal, crimping, soldering), - protection from the external environment (IP system is most often used. The highest degree protection IP68).

Characteristics

General

  • Number of contacts
  • Permissible currents and voltages
  • Contact pressure
  • Contact resistance
  • Electric strength
  • Contact insulation resistance
  • Operating frequency range
  • Dimensions
  • Permissible climatic and mechanical operating conditions

Standard connectors

In modern civilization, a huge number of types of connectors are used. The most common connector types are listed below:

  • CE100
  • CE156
  • CENTRONIC
  • DIN 41
  • DIN AV
  • D-SUB
  • DUBOX
  • MICRO-FIT
  • MICRO-MATCH
  • MINI-FIT MNL
  • SCART

See also

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Synonyms:

See what “Connector” is in other dictionaries:

    Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

    CONNECTOR, disconnect, disconnect, disconnect, corrode, corrode. units bud. vr. from corrode, corrode. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

    Disconnection, plug Dictionary of Russian synonyms. connector noun, number of synonyms: 12 side connector (2) ... Dictionary of synonyms

    DB connector- An electrical connector shaped like the Latin letter D. In domestic literature, the designation DB is most often used (for example, DB 9 for RS 232 serial port connectors). Network topics... ... Technical Translator's Directory

    RJ-11 connector- Standard 6 pin telephone jack. Used to connect modems to the telephone network. Topics information technology in general EN RJ 11 ... Technical Translator's Guide

    RJ-45 connector- Standard 8 pin connector for twisted pair connections. Used to connect an Ethernet LAN. Topics information technology in general EN RJ 45 ... Technical Translator's Guide

    Connector- Connector: A combination of plug and socket that allows the connection and disconnection of two or more conductors...

Dear newcomer to the information business, your first acquaintance with the device of a personal computer took place. Now you know what components the system unit of a personal computer (PC) includes, what external devices are connected to it. How are PC components and external devices physically connected? For this purpose they are used

Implemented in PC architecture backbone-modular principle of computer construction. The modular principle allows you to change the computer configuration and upgrade it. Installing additional expansion cards provides this opportunity. In addition to installing the sound cards, video cards, internal modems, etc. required by the user, it is possible to connect additional non-standard external devices (Web cameras, digital cameras, etc.).

The modular organization is based on the backbone (bus) principle of information exchange between devices. The backbone design principle is that all devices are controlled and exchange information through one common backbone (computer system bus), which includes three buses. One bus is for data exchange, another is for transmitting addresses, and the third is for control.

Schematically, a PC can be represented as follows:

Computer system bus (highway) can be simplified as a set of cables and electrical conductors on the PC motherboard.

The motherboard with the slots and buses used can be imagined:

North Bridge is a system controller. It is responsible for exchanging information with the processor, RAM and video adapter (graphics controller).

South Bridge– This is a functional controller (input/output controller). Hard drives, optical drives, an audio system, network card, keyboard, mouse, etc. are connected to it through the appropriate connectors.

In reality, inside the PC system unit, components are connected using slots (special connectors), cables, cables (flat cables), bundles of wires that end in connectors:

The motherboard itself looks like this:


External devices are connected to connectors and sockets located on the outside of the PC system unit (back and front) or laptop (sides or back):


The response connectors look like this:

Power cables(220 V)

power unit ASUS laptop

PS/2 plugs for connecting a keyboard (purple) and mouse (green).

LPT cable.The LPT (parallel port) port was mainly used to connect printers. Modern printer models provide connection to a USB port.

COM port (serial port) is mainly used to connect modems.

USB cable. The USB port was developed later than the above ports. Most peripheral devices are connected via the USB port: modems, printers, scanners, flash drives, portable hard drives, digital cameras, etc.

VGA cable. Used to connect a monitor.

Cable for connecting to the Internet (Intranet) ( RJ-45 connector)

Slot connector typesused on the motherboard (ISA or EISA, PCI, AGP):

Slots with PCI connector (female):

and sound card withPCI connector (male):

PCI connectors used to connect an internal modem, sound card, network card, SCSI disk controller.

ISA slots (Mother). The ISA interface is deprecated. In modern PCs, it is usually absent.

PCISA FlipPOST diagnostic board with connectors PCI and ISA (male) PCZWiz company


Slot with AGP connector(dad is at the top, mom is at the bottom).

The AGP interface is designed to connect a video adapter to a separate bus, with output directly to system memory.

UDMA slot(father is on the right, mother is on the left).

Hard drives and more are connected to it.

It should be noted that each slot type has its own color. By opening access to the motherboard, you can easily find your way around. But it’s better that you don’t need it. But the cables that connect external devices to the PC “you need to know by sight.” Remember that the mother and father of the connector must be the same color. Always remember to match the colors of the male and female connectors or know what the colors of the connectors on the PC (laptop) case indicate.

Take, for example, a standard sound card:


Linear audio output to the speaker is always green.

The line input for audio amplification is always blue.

The microphone connector is always pink.

Match them with plugs:

The color design of the connectors will help you. True, colors among PC manufacturers are not unified. For example, some may have a purple keyboard connector, while others may have a red or gray one. Therefore, pay attention to the special symbols that mark the connectors. In this case, it will not be difficult for you to find out :


The interface cables for external devices are unique. You cannot insert it into another connector on your PC (the design and number of sockets are different). All this will help you move your PC (laptop) from place to place without prompting from anyone. You will be able to connect devices and cables to your PC correctly. I hope that the material presented will help you with this.

Now you know what it is PC ports, PC slots, PC connectors, PC cables. More detailed information about connectors and their use with excellent color illustrations can be obtained

If you are a beginner, regardless of age, please leave your comment. And if you are a pensioner, then mark this. After all, we are colleagues! We must help each other!

Good day, dear readers. We bring to your attention an article-continuation-addition to what we once published.

This article will focus on connecting “mandatory” peripherals to an already assembled system unit, namely: keyboard, mouse, speakers and printer. Along the way, I will explain to you the purpose of certain connectors and interfaces.

What peripherals and how do we connect?

What do we need?

  • Assembled system unit
  • Monitor
  • Keyboard
  • Columns
  • Printer
  • 3 power wires, interface wires for various devices.
  • Straight arms :-)

First, let's take a look at the back panel of the system unit. In order to make it easier for you to understand which part of the system unit we are talking about (and so that it would be more convenient for me to tell you :-)), I made block diagrams in the figure with numbers and categories. Yellow blocks are devices, and red blocks are device connection interfaces.

1 - Power supply (rear view)
1.1 - Connector for connecting the power cable and power on/off button.
2 – Connectors mat. boards
2.1 - PS/2 keyboard and mouse connection ports.
2.2 - COM – port.
2.3 - LPT – printer port.
2.4 - USB interfaces and RJ-45 network port.
2.5 - mini-jack ports for connecting audio equipment.
3 -
3.1 - DVI (digital)
3.2 - D-SUB (VGA) (analog)
3.3 - (digital, high definition audio and video)
4 - Standard 56K modem ports.
4.1 - RJ-11 ports for connecting a 4-wire standard telephone cable and telephone.
So let's take a closer look at . On the left side of the rear panel of the unit we see the power cable connection port and the on/off button. nutrition. By the way, depending on the model, there may not be a button; it all depends on the manufacturer. On the right side there are “drainage” holes for the power supply cooling fan. Again, depending on the manufacturer and the specific model shown in the figure, the unit may differ in appearance from yours, but in any case, any power supply has a port for connecting the power cable. If it is not there, then, apparently, you screwed the power supply on the wrong side :-) For clarity, I will show you the power supply closer:

I think you have found the power cable connection port. But what should I connect there? Take one of the 3 power wires. Let's take a look at it. One end of it is a standard Euro-socket (there is no photo, but I think it’s clear to everyone what we’re talking about), and on the other there is a hexagonal trapezoidal “end”:

Now we insert it into the port on the power supply (it is better to first disable the power on/off button). As a result, you should get something like this:

The second point of our “review” is connecting a keyboard, mouse, speakers and printer. Let's take a look at the connectors:

Referring to our "block diagram" above, locate the PS/2 keyboard and mouse connection ports. Please note that the keyboard connection port is lilac, and the mouse connection port is green, as well as the interface cable ends on the mouse and keyboard:

This is done so as not to accidentally confuse the ports. Naturally, the keyboard and mouse interface cables are connected by color, but in order to correctly connect the mouse and keyboard to the specified ports, you need to pay attention not only to the color. Both cables are connected only in one position, and if your cable cannot be inserted, under no circumstances force it in! Find the correct position for the cable and it will insert without problems. Sometimes, but not always, special marks are made on the “outputs” of the keyboard and mouse in the form of notches, bevels, arrows, etc., which will help you choose the correct position of the cables. The keyboard and mouse can also be connected via the USB interface. For those who don't know, it looks like this:

In this case there are no problems at all. Set it and forget it. The printer is connected in the same way. All printers starting from 2003 are connected only via USB, and the cable connecting the printer to the computer is standard. This cable is called “USB adapter cable type AM-BM”. At one end of the cable there is a standard USB that we already know, and at the other end there is this tip:

It is inserted into the printer into a special port located on the back or side wall of the printer. For example, here:

The AM-BM cable is used not only for connecting printers. Using this cable, uninterruptible power supplies, external docking stations, external USB storage devices, various diagnostic equipment, etc. are also connected to the computer. By the way, about cables, I draw your attention to the fact that when purchasing any printer other than Samsung, you will also have to purchase such a cable, since...
By the way, be sure to connect power to the printer (use the second of three power cables). Paste here:

Now it's time for the speakers. All modern motherboards, as a rule, are equipped with a built-in sound card. There are three main types of sound cards: built-in, discrete and external. But that's not what this is about. Using our “block diagram” we will find mini-jack ports for connecting audio equipment. As you may have noticed, on our mat. There are as many as six holes on the board. This suggests that the presented sound card is 8-channel, that is, if desired and has sufficient funds, we can connect a 7.1 sound system to our computer. But our main task now is to properly connect the speakers. As with the keyboard and mouse, all ports on the sound card are multi-colored.

The pink port is used to connect a microphone, the green port (which is what we need) is for connecting regular (front) stereo speakers, the blue port is the so-called line output and is used to connect various audio equipment to the computer, for example, musical instruments . Gray port - output to the side speakers (provided that a 7.1 system is connected), orange port - output to the rear speakers (provided that a 5.1 or 7.1 system is connected), black port - output to the center channel and subwoofer (provided that 5.1 or 7.1 system is connected).
Let's take a look at our "test" speakers:

As you can see our tip is green. I think you won’t have any problems connecting the speakers - just plug the plug into the green hole ;-)

Let's now connect the monitor. To do this, we will find the video card connectors on our “block diagram”. We are lucky; our video card contains almost all the main connection interfaces:

The blue port (VGA) is also standard. It has been in business for over 20 years and is already preparing to retire. It has already been replaced by white DVI and the “monster” HDMI - the most modern.
You can also transmit sound via an HDMI cable if desired and have the appropriate equipment.
All three cables look like this:

Only the interface wires for connecting the monitor and video equipment are symmetrical on both sides. It makes no difference which end you insert the cable into. To confirm my words, I will show you the monitor and its back panel with all the listed interfaces:

As you can see, the video card connectors and the monitor connectors are the same. Connecting them, I also think, will not cause any problems for you. By the way, do not forget to connect the remaining third power cable to the monitor, as was the case with the power supply and printer.

Conclusion

You probably noticed that I did not tell you about all the connectors that are indicated in our “block diagram”. The fact is that the equipment connected to these connectors is not the main and necessary one. Often few people use these connectors; for example, the COM port is now used mainly for connecting diagnostic equipment, and the LPT port is used for connecting old printers and license keys to programs. There is also no point in talking about the network card port in this article.

Afterword

PS1: The computer hardware presented in the pictures is shown for examples and information only. No advertising.
PS2: The article was written by a person who lives online under the nickname (friend and project assistant). Why should he huge Thank you .

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Hello my dear readers, today I would like to touch upon such an important topic as the basic connectors of the system unit. Let's see what they are for and what can be connected to them?

I personally believe that every user who uses a computer more or less often is simply obliged to know the main connectors of the system unit in order to subsequently be able to connect new equipment to the computer or be able to assemble a computer in a new place.

Many of you have probably already encountered assembling a computer, but probably few of you did everything right the first time. In this article, I would like to look at the main connectors of the system unit and figure out what they are used for, so that in the future you will not have problems when assembling a computer or when installing new equipment.

So let's begin. Below I will give a typical system unit with explanations. Later we will figure out what each specific port serves.

In the picture we see a typical system unit, a little outdated, but I think it’s suitable for ours.

Connectors for network cables

At the very top of the system unit we see a power supply connector (or PSU for short) for connecting the computer to the network. Under it there is usually a sticker with the allowed input voltage. For example, 220 V. Under the connector there is a switch that can be switched to the “0” and “I” positions. Accordingly, 0 - current supply is not allowed, I - current supply is allowed.

Now a little about what a power supply is. A power supply is a voltage converter that is present in every system unit. It receives current from your home network and converts it into what is needed for the computer to operate, and it also distributes it using its wiring between the internal components of your system unit. Such as the motherboard, hard drives, video card and external coolers. It looks something like this:


And more productive and modern ones like this:


Like the main system unit, it also has its own specialized connectors for connecting internal components of the system unit itself. Some for hard drives, others for coolers, and others for the motherboard. But today we won’t delve into the power supply connectors in detail, because that’s not what the article is about. And if the power supply is already installed in the system unit, then everything has already been connected before you.

However, the power supply itself does not simply plug into the outlet. A special network cable is required. It looks like this:


One end of the cable is plugged into a regular outlet, and the other is connected to a connector in the power supply. Therefore, in order to supply current to our system unit with all its internal components, we need to connect the power supply to the outlet using a cable and switch the toggle switch on the power supply to the current supply position - “I”.

Motherboard connectors

So, we sorted out the power supply. Now let's move on to the motherboard connectors. This is the largest and most basic board inside your system unit, so it has the largest number of different connectors. By the way, it looks something like this:


And the most common connectors on it are ps/2 ports, usb jacks, graphics connectors, a connector for a network cable and outputs for audio devices (microphone, speakers, amplifier, etc.)

Keyboard and mouse connectors

In the very top row of motherboard connectors there are two PS/2 ports.

They are always nearby and serve to connect a keyboard and mouse. Green for connecting a mouse, purple for connecting a keyboard. The connectors are absolutely identical, they differ only in color. Therefore, they are often confused with each other. Even the color difference doesn't help. After all, most users have a computer at the bottom, under the table, with its back panel facing the wall, where there is pitch darkness. There is only one way out of this situation - a flashlight. But there is also a little trick. The mouse connector is most often located on the right side, and the keyboard connector on the left. This connector has long been outdated, and lately it has become less and less common. On the latest models where it is still used, these two ports are combined into one and can connect both a mouse and a keyboard.

Outdated connectors

After the PS/2 mouse and keyboard connectors on modern motherboards there are usually usb 2.0 and usb 3.0 ports, but on earlier motherboards there are still monsters like this that are incomprehensible to the modern user:

This is a parallel LPT connector. It is an obsolete connector and has long been replaced by a universal USB port, which I will describe below. The LTP connector was once developed by IBM and was used to connect peripheral devices (printers, modems, etc.) in the MS-DOS system.

You may also encounter this port:


This is a serial COM port. It is also morally outdated. The word serial means that data is transmitted sequentially, one bit at a time. Previously, it was used to connect terminals, network devices and mice. Currently, it is sometimes used to connect satellite receivers, uninterruptible power supplies and security systems.

Below are the USB ports already familiar to most of you. These are exactly the ones into which we insert our flash drives, printers, USB chargers for phones and much more. Currently, there are several types of these ports. The most popular of them are usb 2.0 and usb 3.0


They differ in color and data transfer speed. The USB 2.0 port is black and its effective data transfer speed is about 30 MB/s, while the USB 3.0 port has about 300 MB/s. USB 3.0 ports are always blue or bright blue.

Of course, on my part, dividing all usb ports into 3.0 and 2.0 is a barbaric method, because there were and still exist many different submodifications such as usb 2.0 full-speed, usb 2.0 high-speed and usb 3.1, but for our purposes I think division by 2.0 and 3.0 will be more than enough. If you suddenly become interested in learning about transitional options, you can open Wikipedia. Everything is described there in detail.

I probably won’t dwell on usb ports in more detail, because today every schoolchild knows what they are used for. Let me just say that these ports can not only transmit data, but can also transmit low voltage current. This is where all these USB chargers for mobile devices come from. They also support branching. This means that with sufficient voltage and the presence of a USB hub (in everyday language, an extension cord), up to 127 devices can be connected to one USB port.

Ethernet socket

There is an Ethernet socket under or next to the USB ports.

It is used to connect a computer to any internal network or Ethernet wide area network. It all depends on the circumstances and desires of the owner. Computers are connected to the global network or combined into local networks, of course, for a reason, but via a network cable. At both ends there are RJ 45 connectors for connecting to the connectors of network devices. Here's what a standard network cable looks like:


Audio connectors

This board features Jack 3.5 connectors. They are located in the lowest row of connectors on the motherboard and are used to connect various acoustic input/output devices to the computer.

The pink connector is used to connect a microphone, or more precisely for audio input devices. Green is a line output and is required for audio output devices (headphones, speakers). The blue connector is used to receive an audio signal from external subsystems (radio, portable or other player, or TV)

If your motherboard has 6 connectors, then your sound card is designed to work in 4-channel mode. The orange connector, in this case, is intended for connecting a subwoofer (low-frequency speaker). Gray for optional side. Black for the rear ones.

Recently, the color designations of connectors are very arbitrary and, if necessary, with the help of drivers they are reconfigured as needed for other functions. For example, to connect additional headphones to the microphone jack, when connecting, it is enough to indicate to the driver that this device is an output device (speakers or headphones).

Video connectors

Well, at the very bottom, separate from the motherboard connectors, we see video connectors coming from an external video card or between the motherboard connectors if you have a built-in one. A short explanation of the differences. An external (discrete) video card is one that is separated from the motherboard. That is, it is not soldered there, but is connected using the PCI-Express connector on the motherboard. As a rule, an external video card is much more powerful than a built-in video card. The built-in video card is soldered into the motherboard and is essentially an inseparable part of it. For the last few years, built-in video cards have been part of the processor and, during operation, take away power from it and separate part of the RAM for themselves.

Video connectors are needed to connect monitors or TVs to a computer. Sometimes you can also find a TV output for connecting a television antenna, but this is more often only in cases where another additional board is purchased and installed in the system unit to receive a TV signal. Usually you can only find video connectors for connecting monitors.

The most common at the moment is the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) interface.


This interface is present in modern video cards, monitors and TVs. The main feature of HDMI is the ability to transmit high-definition digital video signals (HDTV with a resolution of up to 1920×1080 pixels), as well as multi-channel digital audio and control signals, over one audio and video cable.

Slightly less common, but also quite common, is DisplayPort.


In terms of technical characteristics, it is not much different from the HDMI connector, but unlike the previous one, it does not require any license payments from the manufacturer. Thanks to this, it is quickly gaining popularity among manufacturers. Nowadays, this port is being actively replaced by the Thunderbolt connector, which looks exactly the same, supports backward compatibility and at the same time has significantly more capabilities. The data transfer speed of the Thunderbolt connector reaches 40 Gbps. It has lower power consumption and allows you to connect up to two monitors with 4K resolution, or one with 5K resolution.

The first of the aging monitor connectors is called DVI


This is a connector designed to transfer images to high-precision digital display devices. Was developed by Digital Display Working Group

The analog connector for connecting legacy monitors is called VGA

The connector is considered obsolete. And it is used to connect analog monitors. In such monitors, the signal is transmitted line by line. Moreover, when the voltage changes, the brightness of the screen changes. This connector was developed back in 1987 by IBM.